US10676023B2 - Vehicle lighting system, vehicle system, and vehicle - Google Patents

Vehicle lighting system, vehicle system, and vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
US10676023B2
US10676023B2 US16/321,751 US201716321751A US10676023B2 US 10676023 B2 US10676023 B2 US 10676023B2 US 201716321751 A US201716321751 A US 201716321751A US 10676023 B2 US10676023 B2 US 10676023B2
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Prior art keywords
vehicle
light
illumination
lamp
emitting
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US16/321,751
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US20190168664A1 (en
Inventor
Naoki Tatara
Toshihiro Okamura
Takeshi Masuda
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Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
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Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
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Assigned to KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. reassignment KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MASUDA, TAKESHI, TATARA, NAOKI, OKAMURA, TOSHIHIRO
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/2607—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic comprising at least two indicating lamps
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/02—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments
    • B60Q1/04—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights
    • B60Q1/0408—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to illuminate the way ahead or to illuminate other areas of way or environments the devices being headlights built into the vehicle body, e.g. details concerning the mounting of the headlamps on the vehicle body
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/34—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction
    • B60Q1/38—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating change of drive direction using immovably-mounted light sources, e.g. fixed flashing lamps
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/44—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating braking action or preparation for braking, e.g. by detection of the foot approaching the brake pedal
    • B60Q1/445—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating braking action or preparation for braking, e.g. by detection of the foot approaching the brake pedal controlled by inertial devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B60Q1/503—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking using luminous text or symbol displays in or on the vehicle, e.g. static text
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B60Q1/507—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking specific to autonomous vehicles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/50—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
    • B60Q1/543—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q5/00—Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices
    • B60Q5/005—Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices automatically actuated
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q5/00—Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices
    • B60Q5/005—Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices automatically actuated
    • B60Q5/006—Arrangement or adaptation of acoustic signal devices automatically actuated indicating risk of collision between vehicles or with pedestrians
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q9/00—Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00, e.g. haptic signalling
    • B60Q9/008—Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00, e.g. haptic signalling for anti-collision purposes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/005—Traffic control systems for road vehicles including pedestrian guidance indicator
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q2300/00—Indexing codes for automatically adjustable headlamps or automatically dimmable headlamps
    • B60Q2300/40—Indexing codes relating to other road users or special conditions
    • B60Q2300/45—Special conditions, e.g. pedestrians, road signs or potential dangers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q2400/00—Special features or arrangements of exterior signal lamps for vehicles
    • B60Q2400/20—Multi-color single source or LED matrix, e.g. yellow blinker and red brake lamp generated by single lamp
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q2400/00—Special features or arrangements of exterior signal lamps for vehicles
    • B60Q2400/30—Daytime running lights [DRL], e.g. circuits or arrangements therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q2900/00—Features of lamps not covered by other groups in B60Q
    • B60Q2900/40—Several lamps activated in sequence, e.g. sweep effect, progressive activation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q9/00—Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00, e.g. haptic signalling

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a vehicle illumination system.
  • the present disclosure relates to a vehicle illumination system provided to a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode.
  • the present disclosure relates to a vehicle system having the vehicle illumination system, and a vehicle having the vehicle system.
  • a vehicle refers to an automobile
  • a vehicle system automatically controls traveling of a vehicle.
  • the vehicle system automatically performs at least one of a steering control (control of a traveling direction of the vehicle), a brake control and an accelerator control (control of braking and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle) based on various information obtained from a camera, a sensor, a radar and the like.
  • a driver controls the traveling of the vehicle, as in most of conventional vehicles.
  • the traveling of the vehicle is controlled in conformity with a driver's operation (a steering operation, a braking operation, and an accelerator operation), and the vehicle system does not automatically perform the steering control, the brake control and the accelerator control.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle is not a concept existing only in some vehicles but a concept existing in all vehicles including conventional vehicles having no automatic driving function.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle is classified in accordance with a vehicle control method or the like.
  • autonomous driving vehicle vehicles traveling in the automatic driving mode
  • manual driving vehicle vehicles traveling in the manual driving mode
  • the pedestrian when there is a pedestrian who intends to cross a crosswalk in front of the automatic driving vehicle, the pedestrian may be anxious about whether or not the pedestrian can cross the crosswalk, if the pedestrian does not know that the automatic driving vehicle recognizes the pedestrian.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic follow-up traveling system in which a following vehicle can automatically follow a preceding vehicle.
  • each of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle has an illumination system
  • character information for preventing the other vehicle from intruding between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is displayed on the illumination system of the preceding vehicle
  • character information indicative of the automatic follow-up traveling mode is displayed on the illumination system of the following vehicle.
  • Patent Document 1 JP-A-H09-277887
  • Patent Document 1 does not consider a vehicle illumination system and a vehicle system capable of presenting information, which indicates that the automatic driving vehicle recognizes a target object such as the pedestrian, the other vehicle and the like, to the target object. In the meantime, if the information, which indicates that the automatic driving vehicle recognizes the target object, can be presented to the target object, it is possible to beforehand prevent a traffic trouble that will occur between the target object and the automatic driving vehicle.
  • a display device for displaying the character information for preventing the other vehicle from intruding is mounted on a vehicle body roof of the vehicle, so that it is necessary to secure a space for mounting therein the display device.
  • a dimension of the vehicle in a height direction increases and an outer appearance of the vehicle is also poor.
  • existing lamps for example, a daytime running lamp (DRL), a turn signal lamp (TSR), a clearance lamp and the like
  • Patent Document 1 when the display device mounted in each of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is out of order, inter-vehicle communication cannot be performed because there is no separate backup display device. As a result, the other vehicle may intrude between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle, so that the traveling safety of the following vehicle is degraded.
  • an automatic driving vehicle including an illumination system having a pedestrian-to-vehicle communication function
  • a separate device configured to perform pedestrian-to-vehicle communication is not provided to the automatic driving vehicle
  • a possibility that the automatic driving vehicle may cause a traffic trouble with the pedestrian may increase.
  • the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle illumination system capable of presenting information, which indicates that a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode recognizes a target object, to the target object. Also, the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle system capable of increasing reliability of a communication function between a vehicle and a target object.
  • a vehicle illumination system relating to a first aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode, and includes: a left-side communication support lamp and a right-side communication support lamp configured to emit light toward an outside of the vehicle and arranged to be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle, and an illumination control unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, change an illumination state of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, wherein each of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a right and left direction of the vehicle, and wherein the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • the illumination control unit changes the illumination state of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp.
  • the vehicle illumination system capable of presenting information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes the target object, to the target object.
  • the target object can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the change in the illumination state of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, the target object can feel relieved.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to change the illumination state of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, in correspondence to a relative positional relation between the vehicle and the target object.
  • the illumination state of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp is changed, in correspondence to the relative positional relation between the vehicle and the target object. In this way, since the target object can perceive that the vehicle approaching the target object recognizes the target object, the target object can feel relieved.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to sequentially change a light-emitting segment, which is to be turned on or turned off, of the plurality of light-emitting segments of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, in correspondence to the relative positional relation between the vehicle and the target object.
  • the light-emitting segment, which is to be turned on or turned off, of the plurality of light-emitting segments of at least one of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp is sequentially changed, in correspondence to the relative positional relation between the vehicle and the target object. In this way, since the target object can perceive that the vehicle approaching the target object recognizes the target object, the target object can feel relieved.
  • the illumination control unit may change the illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp.
  • the illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp are changed.
  • the target object in the vicinity of a crosswalk can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the change in the illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, the target object can cross in relief the crosswalk.
  • the target object is urged to cross the crosswalk by the change in the illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp.
  • the illumination control unit may sequentially change a light-emitting segment, which is to be turned on or turned off, of the plurality of light-emitting segments of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, along a movement direction of the target object.
  • the light-emitting segment, which is to be turned on or turned off, of the plurality of light-emitting segments of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp is sequentially changed along the movement direction of the target object.
  • the target object in the vicinity of the crosswalk can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the situation where the light-emitting segments to be turned on or turned off are sequentially changed along the movement direction of the target object, the target object can cross in relief the crosswalk.
  • the target object is urged to cross the crosswalk by the sequential change of the light-emitting segments in the movement direction of the target object.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments may include:
  • a first light-emitting element configured to emit light of a first color
  • a second light-emitting element configured to emit light of a second color
  • a third light-emitting element configured to emit light of a third color.
  • the first color, the second color and the third color may be different, and the illumination control unit may be configured to individually control lightings of the first light-emitting element, the second light-emitting element and the third light-emitting element.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments has three light sources configured to emit lights of different colors, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp. In this way, it is possible to increase an amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • the first light-emitting element may be configured to emit red light
  • the second light-emitting element may be configured to emit green light
  • the third light-emitting element may be configured to emit blue light
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments can emit the red light, the green light and the blue light toward the outside. That is, since each light-emitting segment has the RGB light sources, it is possible to emit the lights of diverse colors. In this way, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp, so that it is possible to increase the amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • a vehicle illumination system relating to a second aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • a communication support lamp configured to emit light toward an outside of the vehicle and arranged to be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle
  • an illumination control unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, change an illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the communication support lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction.
  • Each of the plurality of light-emitting segments includes a plurality of light-emitting elements configured to emit lights.
  • the light-emitting colors of the plurality of light-emitting elements are different, and the illumination control unit is configured to individually control lightings of the plurality of light-emitting elements, thereby changing an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as a daytime running lamp, a turn signal lamp or a clearance lamp.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as the daytime running lamp (DRL), the turn signal lamp or the clearance lamp. Therefore, it is possible to provide the vehicle illumination system capable of implementing a function of presenting information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes a pedestrian, to the target object such as the pedestrian, the other vehicle and the like and a function of the existing lamps such as the DRL.
  • DRL daytime running lamp
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments may include:
  • a white light-emitting element configured to emit white light
  • a red light-emitting element configured to emit red light
  • a green light-emitting element configured to emit green light
  • a blue light-emitting element configured to emit blue light.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as a daytime running lamp.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as the daytime running lamp (DRL). Therefore, it is possible to provide the vehicle illumination system capable of implementing the function of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes the target object, to the target object and a function of the DRL.
  • DRL daytime running lamp
  • a luminescence intensity of the white light that is to be emitted from the white light-emitting element may be greater than a luminescence intensity of white light that is to be obtained by mixing the red light to be emitted from the red light-emitting element, the green light to be emitted from the green light-emitting element and the blue light to be emitted from the blue light-emitting element.
  • the luminescence intensity of the white light that is to be emitted from the white light-emitting element is greater than the luminescence intensity of white light that is to be obtained by mixing the red light to be emitted from the red light-emitting element, the green light to be emitted from the green light-emitting element and the blue light to be emitted from the blue light-emitting element.
  • the vehicle illumination system can easily implement the function of the DRL by using the white light-emitting element configured to emit the white light having the high luminescence intensity.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments may include:
  • an amber light-emitting element configured to emit amber light
  • a green light-emitting element configured to emit green light
  • a blue light-emitting element configured to emit blue light.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as a turn signal lamp.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the illumination system is to function as the turn signal lamp (TSL). Therefore, it is possible to provide the vehicle illumination system capable of implementing the function of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes the target object, to the target object and a function of the TSL.
  • TSL turn signal lamp
  • a vehicle illumination system relating to a third aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • a headlamp mounted to a front surface of the vehicle
  • a communication support lamp configured to emit light toward an outside of the vehicle
  • an illumination control unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, change an illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the headlamp includes:
  • At least one lamp configured to emit light toward the outside of the vehicle and arranged in a lamp chamber formed by the housing and the cover.
  • the communication support lamp is arranged in the lamp chamber and includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction of the vehicle.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • the communication support lamp is arranged in the lamp chamber of the headlamp that is noticed by a target object such as a pedestrian, other vehicle and the like in front of the vehicle. Therefore, since the target object ahead of the vehicle can easily perceive the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, it is possible to increase effectiveness of a communication function between the vehicle and the target object. Also, since it is not necessary to separately provide a space, in which the communication support lamp is to be arranged, in the vehicle, it is possible to secure a degree of design freedom of an exterior package of the vehicle.
  • the at least one lamp may include:
  • a low beam lamp configured to emit a low beam toward the front of the vehicle
  • a high beam lamp configured to emit a high beam toward the front of the vehicle.
  • the communication support lamp is arranged in the lamp chamber of the headlamp including the low beam lamp and the high beam lamp. Therefore, since the target object ahead of the vehicle can easily perceive the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the communication function between the vehicle and the target object.
  • a vehicle illumination system relating to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • a headlamp mounted to a front surface of the vehicle
  • a first lamp configured to emit light toward an outside of the vehicle
  • a communication support lamp configured to emit light toward the outside of the vehicle
  • an illumination control unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, change an illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the headlamp includes:
  • a second lamp configured to emit light toward the outside of the vehicle and arranged in a lamp chamber formed by the housing and the cover.
  • the first lamp is arranged at a predetermined place of the vehicle outside the lamp chamber,
  • the communication support lamp is arranged in the lamp chamber and includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction of the vehicle, and
  • the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • the communication support lamp is arranged in the lamp chamber of the headlamp that is noticed by a target object such as a pedestrian, other vehicle and the like in front of the vehicle. Therefore, since the target object ahead of the vehicle can easily perceive the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the communication function between the vehicle and the target object. Also, since the first lamp is arranged at the predetermined place of the vehicle other than the lamp chamber of the headlamp, it is possible to sufficiently secure a space for arranging the communication support lamp in the lamp chamber of the headlamp without increasing an entire size of the headlamp.
  • the first lamp may be any one of a low beam lamp configured to emit a low beam toward the front of the vehicle, and a high beam lamp configured to emit a high beam toward the front of the vehicle.
  • the second lamp may be the other of the low beam lamp and the high beam lamp.
  • the first lamp may be arranged at an inner side of a front window of the vehicle, a front grill or a bumper.
  • the first lamp is arranged at the inner side of the front window of the vehicle, the front grill or the bumper, it is possible to sufficiently secure the space for arranging the communication support lamp in the lamp chamber of the headlamp without increasing the entire size of the headlamp.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the communication support lamp is to function as a daytime running lamp.
  • the illumination control unit is configured to control the illumination state of the communication support lamp so that the communication support lamp is to function as the daytime running lamp (DRL). Therefore, since it is not necessary to separately provide the DRL in the lamp chamber of the headlamp, it is possible to sufficiently secure the space for arranging the communication support lamp in the lamp chamber of the headlamp without increasing the entire size of the headlamp.
  • DRL daytime running lamp
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments may include:
  • a first light-emitting element configured to emit light of a first color
  • a second light-emitting element configured to emit light of a second color
  • a third light-emitting element configured to emit light of a third color
  • the first color, the second color and the third color may be different, and
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to individually control lightings of the first light-emitting element, the second light-emitting element and the third light-emitting element, thereby changing the illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments has three light sources configured to emit lights of different colors, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the communication support lamp. In this way, it is possible to increase an amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • the first light-emitting element may be configured to emit red light
  • the second light-emitting element may be configured to emit green light
  • the third light-emitting element may be configured to emit blue light
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments can emit the red light, the green light and the blue light. That is, since each light-emitting segment has the RGB light sources, it is possible to emit the lights of diverse colors. In this ways, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the communication support lamp, so that it is possible to increase the amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • a vehicle system relating to an aspect of the present disclosure includes:
  • a detection unit configured to detect a target object and the like
  • a position information acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of the target object
  • the vehicle system capable of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of driving in the automatic driving mode recognizes the target object, to the target object.
  • a vehicle capable of driving in an automatic driving mode and including the vehicle system may be provided.
  • an automatic driving vehicle system capable of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle recognizes the target object, to the target object.
  • a vehicle system relating to a first aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of driving in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • an illumination system including:
  • a vehicle exterior speaker system including:
  • the communication support lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction, and
  • the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments, thereby changing the illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the illumination state of the communication support lamp is changed. For this reason, a pedestrian can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the target object can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by hearing the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the vehicle system capable of improving the reliability of the communication function between the vehicle and the target object by the two systems of the illumination system and the vehicle exterior speaker system.
  • a vehicle system relating to a second aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of driving in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • an illumination system including:
  • a transmission unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, wirelessly transmit a first control signal for controlling at least one of a display state and a speaker state of a portable electronic device carried by the target object to the portable electronic device.
  • the communication support lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction, and
  • the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments, thereby changing the illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the target object when the vehicle detects the target object, the illumination state of the communication support lamp is changed. For this reason, the target object can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the first control signal for controlling at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the portable electronic device carried by the target object is wirelessly transmitted to the portable electronic device. Then, at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the portable electronic device is controlled in accordance with the wirelessly transmitted first control signal.
  • the target object can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by detecting at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the portable electronic device, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the vehicle system can continue to perform communication between the vehicle and the target object by the wireless communication with the portable electronic device.
  • a vehicle system relating to a third aspect of the present disclosure is provided to a vehicle capable of driving in an automatic driving mode, and includes:
  • an illumination system including:
  • a transmission unit configured to, when the vehicle detects a target object, wirelessly transmit a second control signal for controlling at least one of a display state and a speaker state of a traffic infrastructure equipment in the vicinity of the target object to the traffic infrastructure equipment.
  • the communication support lamp includes a plurality of light-emitting segments arranged side by side in a predetermined direction, and
  • the illumination control unit is configured to change an illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments, thereby changing the illumination state of the communication support lamp.
  • the illumination state of the communication support lamp is changed. For this reason, a pedestrian can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by seeing the change in the illumination state of the communication support lamp, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the second control signal for controlling at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the traffic infrastructure equipment is wirelessly transmitted to the traffic infrastructure equipment. Then, at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the traffic infrastructure equipment is controlled in accordance with the wirelessly transmitted second control signal.
  • the target object can perceive that the vehicle recognizes the target object by detecting at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the traffic infrastructure equipment, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the vehicle system can continue to perform communication between the vehicle and the target object by the wireless communication with the traffic infrastructure equipment.
  • vehicle system may further include a vehicle interior speaker system including:
  • a vehicle interior speaker configured to output a sound toward a passenger in the vehicle
  • a vehicle interior speaker control unit configured to control the vehicle interior speaker so that the same sound as the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker is to be output toward the passenger.
  • the passenger since the same sound as the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker is output toward the passenger, the passenger can perceive that pedestrian-to-vehicle communication is appropriately performed between the pedestrian and the vehicle by hearing the sound, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the vehicle system may further include a display device system including:
  • a display device on which the illumination state of the communication support lamp is to be displayed so that a passenger in the vehicle can visually recognize the same
  • a display control unit configured to display the illumination state of the communication support lamp on the display device.
  • the passenger since the illumination state of the communication support lamp is displayed on the display device so that the passenger in the vehicle can visually recognize the same, the passenger can perceive that communication is appropriately performed between the vehicle and the target object by visually recognizing the illumination state of the communication support lamp displayed on the display device, and can thus feel relieved.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments may include:
  • a first light-emitting element configured to emit light of a first color
  • a second light-emitting element configured to emit light of a second color
  • a third light-emitting element configured to emit light of a third color
  • the first color, the second color and the third color may be different, and
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to individually control lightings of the first light-emitting element, the second light-emitting element and the third light-emitting element, thereby changing the illumination state of each of the plurality of light-emitting segments.
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments has three light sources configured to emit lights of different colors, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the communication support lamp. In this way, it is possible to increase an amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • the first light-emitting element may be configured to emit red light
  • the second light-emitting element may be configured to emit green light
  • the third light-emitting element may be configured to emit blue light
  • each of the plurality of light-emitting segments can emit the red light, the green light and the blue light. That is, since each light-emitting segment has the RGB light sources, it is possible to emit the lights of diverse colors. In this ways, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the communication support lamp, so that it is possible to increase the amount of information to be communicated between the vehicle and the target object.
  • vehicle system may further include:
  • a detection unit configured to detect a target object
  • a position information acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of the target object.
  • a vehicle including the vehicle system and capable of traveling in an automatic driving mode may be provided.
  • the vehicle illumination system capable of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes the target object, to the target object. Also, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide the vehicle system capable of improving the reliability of the communication function between the vehicle and the target object.
  • FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, simply to referred to as ‘first embodiment’).
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a vehicle system including the vehicle illumination system of the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a left-side communication support lamp and a right-side communication support lamp.
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view pictorially depicting an example of the left-side communication support lamp.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation flow of the vehicle illumination system of the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 6A depicts a situation where a pedestrian is in the vicinity of a crosswalk and a vehicle is approaching an intersection point
  • FIG. 6B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 6A .
  • FIG. 7A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle is approaching the intersection point
  • FIG. 7B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 7A .
  • FIG. 8A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle is approaching the intersection point
  • FIG. 8B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 8A .
  • FIG. 9A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle has stopped ahead of the crosswalk
  • FIG. 9B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 9A .
  • FIG. 10A depicts a situation where the pedestrian has crossed the crosswalk and the vehicle has passed the intersection point
  • FIG. 10B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 10A .
  • FIG. 11 is a block diagram depicting a left-side communication support lamp and a right-side communication support lamp in accordance with a modified embodiment.
  • FIG. 12 is a perspective view pictorially depicting an example of the left-side communication support lamp shown in FIG. 11 .
  • FIG. 13A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle has stopped ahead of the crosswalk
  • FIG. 13B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 13A .
  • FIG. 14A depicts a situation where the pedestrian has crossed the crosswalk and the vehicle is turning right
  • FIG. 14B depicts illumination states of the left-side communication support lamp and the right-side communication support lamp in the situation shown in FIG. 14A .
  • FIG. 15 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, simply to referred to as ‘first embodiment’).
  • FIG. 16 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a first modified embodiment of the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 17 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a second modified embodiment of the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 18 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a third modified embodiment of the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 19 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a fourth modified embodiment of the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 20 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a fifth modified embodiment of the second embodiment.
  • FIG. 21 is a front view of the vehicle having a vehicle illumination system in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 22 is a block diagram depicting a vehicle system of the third embodiment.
  • FIG. 23 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation flow of the vehicle illumination system of the third embodiment.
  • FIG. 24A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle is approaching the intersection point
  • FIG. 24B depicts illumination states of a left-side illumination unit and a right-side illumination unit in the situation shown in FIG. 24A .
  • FIG. 25A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle is approaching the intersection point
  • FIG. 25B depicts illumination states of the left-side illumination unit and the right-side illumination unit in the situation shown in FIG. 24A .
  • FIG. 26A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle is approaching the intersection point
  • FIG. 26B depicts illumination states of the left-side illumination unit and the right-side illumination unit in the situation shown in FIG. 26A .
  • FIG. 27A depicts a situation where the pedestrian is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle has stopped ahead of the crosswalk
  • FIG. 27B depicts illumination states of the left-side illumination unit and the right-side illumination unit in the situation shown in FIG. 27A .
  • FIG. 28A depicts a situation where the pedestrian has crossed the crosswalk and the vehicle has passed the intersection point
  • FIG. 28B depicts illumination states of the left-side illumination unit and the right-side illumination unit in the situation shown in FIG. 28A .
  • FIG. 29 is a block diagram depicting a pedestrian-to-vehicle communication system including a vehicle system in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 30 depicts the pedestrian who is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and carries a portable electronic device and the vehicle that has stopped ahead of the crosswalk.
  • FIG. 31 is a block diagram depicting a road-to-vehicle communication system including a vehicle system in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 32 depicts the pedestrian who is in the vicinity of the crosswalk, the vehicle that has stopped ahead of the crosswalk, and a traffic light equipped in the vicinity of the crosswalk.
  • the right and left direction is a direction including “the upward direction” and “the downward direction”.
  • the front and rear direction is a direction including “the forward direction” and “the rearward direction”.
  • the right and left direction is a direction including “the rightward direction” and “the leftward direction”.
  • FIG. 1 is a front view of the vehicle 1 having the illumination system 4 mounted thereto.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting the vehicle system 2 .
  • the illumination system 4 includes a left-side headlamp 20 L and a right-side headlamp 20 R.
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L is mounted at a front left side of the vehicle 1 , and includes a housing 23 L, a cover 24 L mounted to the housing 23 L, a left low beam lamp 60 L, and a left high beam lamp 70 L.
  • the cover 24 L is configured by a light-penetrating member through which light can pass, for example.
  • a lamp chamber is formed by the housing 23 L and the cover 24 L, and the left low beam lamp 60 L and the left high beam lamp 70 L are arranged in the lamp chamber.
  • the left low beam lamp 60 L is configured to emit a low beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the left high beam lamp 70 L is configured to emit a high beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the right-side headlamp 20 R is mounted at a front right side of the vehicle 1 , and includes a housing 23 R, a cover 24 R mounted to the housing 23 R, a right low beam lamp 60 R and a right high beam lamp 70 R.
  • the cover 24 R is configured by a light-penetrating member through which light can pass, for example.
  • a lamp chamber is formed by the housing 23 R and the cover 24 R, and the right low beam lamp 60 R and the right high beam lamp 70 R are arranged in the lamp chamber.
  • the right low beam lamp 60 R is configured to emit a low beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the right high beam lamp 70 R is configured to emit a high beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R may be collectively referred to as ‘headlamp 20 ’.
  • the illumination system 4 further includes a left-side communication support lamp 40 L (hereinafter, simply referred to as ‘left-side CSL 40 L’), a left-side auxiliary communication support lamp 42 L (hereinafter, simply referred to as ‘left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L’), a right-side communication support lamp 40 R (hereinafter, simply referred to as ‘right-side CSL 40 R’), a right-side auxiliary communication support lamp 42 R (hereinafter, simply referred to as ‘fight-side auxiliary CSL 42 R’), and an illumination control unit 47 .
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R may be collectively referred to as ‘CSL 40 ’.
  • Each of the left-side CSL 40 L, the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L, the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R is a lamp for supporting communication between a target object such as a pedestrian, other vehicle and the like and the vehicle 1 .
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L are configured to emit light toward an outside of the vehicle 1 , and are arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the description “emit light toward an outside of the vehicle 1 ” means that the light emitted from the left-side CSL 40 L or the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L can be visually recognized by a pedestrian and the like outside the vehicle 1 , and does not necessarily mean that the left-side CSL 40 L and the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L directly irradiate the light toward a target object such as a pedestrian and the like outside the vehicle 1 .
  • the left-side CSL 40 L is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 .
  • the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the left-side CSL 40 L by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R are configured to emit light toward the outside of the vehicle 1 , and are arranged in the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the description “emit light toward an outside of the vehicle 1 ” means that the light emitted from the right-side CSL 40 R or the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R can be visually recognized by the pedestrian and the like outside the vehicle 1 , and does not necessarily mean that the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R directly irradiate the light toward the target object such as the pedestrian and the like outside the vehicle 1 .
  • the right-side CSL 40 R is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 .
  • the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the right-side CSL 40 R by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • both the left low beam lamp 60 L and the left high beam lamp 70 L are arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L. However, one of them may be arranged at a bumper 34 , a front grill 33 , a left-side door mirror 35 L or a front window 32 of the vehicle 1 .
  • both the right low beam lamp 60 R and the right high beam lamp 70 R are arranged in the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R. However, one of them may be arranged at the bumper 34 , the front grill 33 , a right-side door mirror 35 R or the front window 32 of the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle system 2 of the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle control unit 3 , an illumination system 4 , a sensor 5 , a camera 6 , a radar 7 , a HMI (Human Machine Interface) 8 , a GPS (Global Positioning System) 9 , a wireless communication unit 10 , and a map information storage 11 .
  • the vehicle system 2 includes a steering actuator 12 , a steering device 13 , a brake actuator 14 , a brake device 15 , an accelerator actuator 16 , and an accelerator device 17 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control traveling of the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 is configured by, for example, at least one an electronic control unit (ECU) and is connected to a power supply (not shown).
  • the electronic control unit may include at least one microcontroller having one or more processors and one or more memories, and other electronic circuits having an active element such as a transistor and a passive element.
  • the processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and/or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).
  • the CPU may be configured by a plurality of CPU cores.
  • the GPU may be configured by a plurality of GPU cores.
  • the memory includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).
  • a vehicle control program may be stored.
  • the vehicle control program may include an artificial intelligence (AI) program.
  • AI is a program established by a supervised or unsupervised machine learning using a neural network such as deep learning.
  • the vehicle control program, vehicle control data and/or surrounding environment information indicative of a surrounding environment of the vehicle may be temporarily stored.
  • the processor may be configured to develop, on the RAM, a program designated from the vehicle control program stored in the ROM and to execute a variety of processes in cooperation with the RAM.
  • the electronic control unit may be configured by at least one integrated circuit such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) and the like. Also, the electronic control unit may be configured by a combination of at least one microcontroller and at least one integrated circuit (FPGA and the like).
  • ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit
  • FPGA Field-Programmable Gate Array
  • the electronic control unit may be configured by a combination of at least one microcontroller and at least one integrated circuit (FPGA and the like).
  • the illumination system 4 includes the illumination control unit 47 , the left-side headlamp 20 L, the right-side headlamp 20 R, the left-side CSL 40 L (left-side communication support lamp), the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L (left-side auxiliary communication support lamp), the right-side CSL 40 R (right-side communication support lamp), and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R (right-side auxiliary communication support lamp).
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to control illumination states of the left low beam lamp 60 L and left high beam lamp 70 L of the left-side headlamp 20 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the low beam to be emitted from the left low beam lamp 60 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the high beam to be emitted from the left high beam lamp 70 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to control illumination states of the right low beam lamp 60 R and right high beam lamp 70 R of the right-side headlamp 20 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the low beam to be emitted from the right low beam lamp 60 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the low beam to be emitted from the right high beam lamp 70 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change illumination states (for example, an illumination color, an illumination intensity, a blinking cycle, an illumination place, an illumination area and the like) of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R. Also, the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change illumination states (for example, an illumination color, an illumination intensity, a blinking cycle, an illumination place, an illumination area and the like) of the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R.
  • illumination states for example, an illumination color, an illumination intensity, a blinking cycle, an illumination place, an illumination area and the like
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured by at least one an electronic control unit (ECU) and is connected to the power supply (not shown).
  • the electronic control unit may include at least one microcontroller having one or more processors and one or more memories, and other electronic circuits (transistors and the like).
  • the processor is, for example, a CPU, an MPU, a GPU and/or a TPU.
  • the CPU may be configured by a plurality of CPU cores.
  • the GPU may be configured by a plurality of GPU cores.
  • the memory includes a ROM and a RAM.
  • the electronic control unit (ECU) may be configured by at least one integrated circuit such as ASIC, FPGA and the like.
  • the electronic control unit may be configured by a combination of at least one microcontroller and at least one integrated circuit (FPGA and the like).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 and the illumination control unit 47 are provided as separate configurations but may be integrally configured. That is, the illumination control unit 43 and the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured by a single electronic control unit.
  • the configurations of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R will be described later.
  • the sensor 5 includes an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like.
  • the sensor 5 is configured to detect a traveling condition of the vehicle 1 and to output traveling condition information indicative of the traveling condition of the vehicle 1 to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the sensor 5 may further include a seating sensor configured to detect whether a driver is sitting on a driver seat, a face direction sensor configured to detect a direction of a driver's face, an external weather sensor configured to detect an external weather condition, a passenger detection sensor configured to detect whether there is a passenger in a vehicle, and the like.
  • the camera 6 is, for example, a camera including an imaging device such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) and a CMOS (complementary MOS).
  • the radar 7 is a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar, a laser radar (for example, LiDAR), or the like.
  • the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 is configured to detect information (surrounding environment information) about surrounding environments (other vehicles, pedestrians, road shapes, traffic signs, obstacles, and the like) of the vehicle 1 and to output the surrounding environment information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the HMI 8 includes an input unit configured to receive an input operation from a driver and an output unit configured to output the traveling state information and the like to the driver.
  • the input unit includes a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a driving mode changeover switch for switching the driving mode of the vehicle 1 , and the like.
  • the output unit includes a display configured to display the traveling state information, the surrounding environment information and the illumination state of the illumination system 4 , and the like.
  • the GPS (Global Positioning System) 9 is configured to acquire current position information of the vehicle 1 and to output the acquired current position information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive information (for example, other vehicle traveling information, and the like) relating to other vehicles around the vehicle 1 from the other vehicles and to transmit information (for example, host vehicle traveling information, and the like) relating to the vehicle 1 to the other vehicles (inter-vehicle communication).
  • the wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as a traffic light, a marker lamp and the like and to transmit the host vehicle traveling information of the vehicle 1 to the infrastructure equipment (road-to-vehicle communication). Also, the wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive information relating to a pedestrian from a portable electronic device (a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a notebook computer or the like) carried by the pedestrian and to transmit the host vehicle traveling information of the vehicle 1 to the portable electronic device (pedestrian-to-vehicle communication).
  • the vehicle 1 may be configured to perform communication with the other vehicle, the infrastructure equipment or the portable electronic device by an ad hook mode directly or via an access point.
  • the wireless communication standards include, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark) or LPWA.
  • the vehicle 1 may be configured to perform communication with the other vehicle, the infrastructure equipment or the portable electronic device via a mobile communication network.
  • the map information storage 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive in which map information is stored, and is configured to output the map information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the map information may be updated via the wireless communication unit 10 and a communication network such as the Internet whenever a predetermined time period elapses.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 automatically generates at least one of a steering control signal, an accelerator control signal and a brake control signal, based on the traveling state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information and the vehicle control program.
  • the steering actuator 12 is configured to receive the steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and to control the steering device 13 on the basis of the received steering control signal.
  • the brake actuator 14 is configured to receive the brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and to control the brake device 15 on the basis of the received brake control signal.
  • the accelerator actuator 16 is configured to receive the accelerator control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and to control the accelerator device 17 on the basis of the received accelerator control signal. In this way, in the automatic driving mode, the traveling of the vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 when the vehicle 1 travels in a manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates a steering control signal, an accelerator control signal and a brake control signal in conformity with a driver's manual operation on the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal and the steering wheel.
  • the steering control signal, the accelerator control signal and the brake control signal are generated by the driver's manual operation, so that the traveling of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.
  • the driving mode includes an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode.
  • the automatic driving mode includes a full-automatic driving mode, an advanced driving support mode, and a driving support mode.
  • the vehicle system 2 In the full-automatic driving mode, the vehicle system 2 is configured to automatically perform all of the traveling controls of the steering control, the brake control and the accelerator control, and the driver is not in a state where it is possible to drive the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle system 2 is configured to automatically perform all of the traveling controls of the steering control, the brake control and the accelerator control, and the driver does not drive the vehicle 1 although the driver is in a state where it is possible to drive the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle system 2 In the driving support mode, the vehicle system 2 is configured to automatically perform a part of the traveling controls of the steering control, the brake control and the accelerator control, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 under the driving support of the vehicle system 2 .
  • the vehicle system 2 In the manual driving mode, the vehicle system 2 is configured not to automatically perform the traveling controls, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 without the driving support of the vehicle system 2 .
  • the driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be switched by operating a driving mode changeover switch.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 is configured to switch the driving mode of the vehicle 1 among the four driving modes (the full-automatic driving mode, the advanced driving support mode, the driving support mode, and the manual driving mode) in accordance with a driver's operation on the driving mode changeover switch.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be automatically switched on the basis of information relating to a travel-allowed section where traveling of an automatic driving vehicle is allowed or a travel-prohibited section where the traveling of the automatic driving vehicle is prohibited or information relating to the external weather condition.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 is configured to switch the driving mode of the vehicle 1 , based on such information.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle 1 may be automatically switched by using a seating sensor, a face direction sensor, or the like.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to switch the driving mode of the vehicle 1 , based on an output signal from the seating sensor or the face direction sensor.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view pictorially depicting an example of the left-side CSL 40 L.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L includes six light-emitting segments 43 L.
  • the six light-emitting segments 43 L are arranged side by side in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 (refer to FIG. 6B and the like).
  • the technical meaning of the state where the six light-emitting segments 43 L are arranged side by side in the right and left direction includes not only a state where the six light-emitting segments 43 L are arranged side by side in a direction parallel with the right and left direction but also a state where the six light-emitting segments 43 L are arranged side by side in a direction inclined relative to the right and left direction by a predetermined angle.
  • the predetermined angle is equal to or smaller than 45°.
  • Each of the light-emitting segments 43 L includes a red LED (Light Emitting Diode) 400 a (red light-emitting element) configured to emit red light, a green LED 400 b (green light-emitting element) configured to emit green light, a blue LED 400 c (blue light-emitting element) configured to emit blue light and a white LED 400 d (white light-emitting element) configured to emit white light.
  • the red LED 400 a , the green LED 400 b , the blue LED 400 c and the white LED 400 d may be collectively referred to as ‘LED 400 ’.
  • a luminescence intensity of the white light to be emitted from the white LED 400 d is preferably greater than a luminescence intensity of white light obtained by mixing the red light to be emitted from the red LED 400 a , the green light to be emitted from the green LED 400 b and the blue light be emitted from the blue LED 400 c .
  • the vehicle illumination system 4 can easily implement a function of a daytime running lamp (hereinafter, referred to as DRL) or a clearance lamp by using the white LED 400 d configured to emit the white light having the high luminescence intensity.
  • DRL daytime running lamp
  • the left-side CSL 40 L further includes a plate-shaped circuit board 46 L on which the six light-emitting segments 43 L are mounted.
  • a wiring pattern (not shown) for supplying an electric signal to each LED 400 is formed.
  • Each LED 400 is arranged on the circuit board 46 L so as to be electrically connected to the wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 46 L.
  • each of the light-emitting segments 43 L further includes a reflector 45 L configured to reflect the light emitted from each LED 400 toward the outside of the vehicle 1 .
  • Each reflector 45 L is arranged on the circuit board 46 L so as to cover the four corresponding LEDs 400 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 (refer to FIG. 2 ) is electrically connected to each LED 400 of each light-emitting segment 43 L through the wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 46 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 supplies an electric signal (for example, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal) to the red LED 400 a belonging to the one light-emitting segment 43 L through the wiring pattern.
  • PWM Pulse Width Modulation
  • the red LED 400 a emits the red light, in correspondence to the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 . In this way, the red light is emitted from the light-emitting segment 43 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the white LEDs 400 d belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 43 L through the wiring pattern. Then, the respective white LEDs 400 d emit the white light, in correspondence to the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination system 4 functions as a DRL or a clearance lamp.
  • the illumination control unit 47 can individually control lightings of the respective LEDs 400 belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 43 L (i.e., individually supply the electric signal to the respective LEDs 400 ), thereby changing an illumination state (for example, the illumination color, the illumination intensity, the blinking cycle and the like) of each of the light-emitting segments 43 L. Also, the illumination control unit 47 can change the illumination state of each of the light-emitting segments 43 L, thereby changing an illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L.
  • the right-side CSL 40 R includes six light-emitting segments 43 R.
  • the six light-emitting segments 43 R are arranged side by side in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 (refer to FIG. 6B and the like).
  • the technical meaning of the state where the six light-emitting segments 43 R are arranged side by side in the right and left direction includes a state where the six light-emitting segments 43 R are arranged side by side in a direction inclined relative to the right and left direction by a predetermined angle, as described above.
  • the predetermined angle is equal to or smaller than 45°.
  • Each of the light-emitting segments 43 R includes a red LED 400 a , a green LED 400 b , a blue LED 400 c , and a white LED 400 d .
  • the specific configuration of the right-side CSL 40 R is the same as the specific configuration of the left-side CSL 40 L shown in FIG. 4 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 is electrically connected to each LED 400 of each light-emitting segment 43 R through the wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 46 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 can individually control lightings of the respective LEDs 400 belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 43 R (i.e., individually supply the electric signal to the respective LEDs 400 ), thereby changing an illumination state (for example, the illumination color, the illumination intensity, the blinking cycle and the like) of each of the light-emitting segments 43 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 can change the illumination state of each of the light-emitting segments 43 R, thereby changing an illumination state of the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the illumination control method of the right-side CSL 40 R is the same as the illumination control method of the left-side CSL 40 L shown in FIG. 4 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to control the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R so that the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are to function as DRLs, turn signal lamps (hereinafter, simply referred to as TSL) or clearance lamps.
  • TSL turn signal lamps
  • each of the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R shown in FIG. 2 includes a plurality of light-emitting segments (not shown).
  • Each of the light-emitting segments includes one or more LEDs (not shown).
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to individually supply the electric signal to each LED belonging to each light-emitting segment, thereby changing an illumination states of each light-emitting segment. In this way, the illumination control unit 47 can change the illumination states (the illumination color, the illumination intensity, the blinking cycle and the like) of the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation flow of the illumination system 4 .
  • FIG. 6A depicts a situation where a pedestrian P is in the vicinity of a crosswalk and the vehicle 1 is approaching the crosswalk C.
  • FIG. 6B depicts illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R in the situation shown in FIG. 6A .
  • the descriptions of FIGS. 7A-7B and thereafter are basically the same as the descriptions of FIGS. 6A and 6B .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 (detection unit) first detects the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C ahead of the vehicle 1 that is traveling in the automatic driving mode (in particular, the full-automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode) (step S 1 ).
  • the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 acquire the surrounding environment information (for example, image data and the like) of the vehicle 1 , and transmit the acquired surrounding environment information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 detects the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C, based on the surrounding environment information transmitted from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 .
  • an object identification algorithm may be used, for example.
  • step S 1 When the pedestrian P is detected (YES in step S 1 ), the vehicle control unit 3 (position information acquisition unit) acquires position information of the pedestrian P, based on the transmitted surrounding environment information (step S 2 ).
  • the position information of the pedestrian P is information about a relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 .
  • the processing returns to step S 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 functions as the detection unit configured to detect the pedestrian P and the position information acquisition unit configured to acquire the position information of the pedestrian P.
  • the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 may function as the detection unit configured to detect the pedestrian P 1 and the position information acquisition unit.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to detect the pedestrian P and to acquire the position information of the pedestrian P by pedestrian-to-vehicle communication via the wireless communication unit 10 , instead of using the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 .
  • the wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive the position information of the pedestrian P (position coordinate of the pedestrian P) from a portable electronic device such as a portable phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device (for example, AR glass) or the like carried by the pedestrian P and to provide the position information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to acquire the information (position information of the pedestrian P) about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 , based on the position information of the pedestrian P (position coordinate of the pedestrian P) acquired from the portable electronic device via the wireless communication unit 10 and the position information of the vehicle 1 (position coordinate of the vehicle 1 ) acquired via the GPS 9 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to detect the pedestrian P and to acquire the position information of the pedestrian P by the road-to-vehicle communication through the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the infrastructure equipment for example, a traffic light equipped in the vicinity of an intersection point, or the like
  • the infrastructure equipment includes an image acquisition means such as a camera capable of acquiring an image of the pedestrian P, and detects the pedestrian P and acquires the position information of the pedestrian P (position coordinate of the pedestrian P) by the image acquisition means.
  • the wireless communication unit 10 of the vehicle 1 receives the position information of the pedestrian P 1 and the like from the infrastructure equipment, and provides the position information and the like to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may acquire the information (position information of the pedestrian P) about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 , based on the position information of the pedestrian P (position coordinate of the pedestrian P) acquired from the infrastructure equipment via the wireless communication unit 10 and the position information of the vehicle 1 (position coordinate of the vehicle 1 ) acquired via the GPS 9 .
  • step S 3 the vehicle control unit 3 determines the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, in correspondence to a distance D (an example of the relative positional relation) between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may specify the distance D between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 , based on the position information of the pedestrian P (information about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 ).
  • the distance D may be the shortest distance between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the specified distance D.
  • a table or a relation equation indicative of a relation between a range of the distance D between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 and the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on may be stored in advance in the ROM of the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may determine the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, based on the specified distance D and the table or relation equation indicative of the relation between the range of the distance D and the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for designating the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on (i.e., the designated light-emitting segment 43 L), based on the transmitted illumination control signal. In this way, the designated light-emitting segment 43 L is turned on by the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 when turning on the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned with the red light, the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for designating the red LED 400 a belonging to the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, in correspondence to the specified distance D, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the red LED 400 a belonging to the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the designated light-emitting segment 43 L is turned on with the red light by the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the electric signal is supplied to the green LED 400 b , so that the designated light-emitting segment 43 L can be turned on with the green light.
  • the electric signal is supplied to the blue LED 400 c , so that the designated light-emitting segment 43 L can be turned on with the blue light.
  • the electric signal is supplied to the white LED 400 d , so that the designated light-emitting segment 43 L can be turned on with the white light.
  • step S 4 the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C, based on the traveling state information of the vehicle 1 acquired by the sensor 5 .
  • the processing returns to step S 2 . In this way, the series of processing from step S 2 to step S 4 is repetitively executed until it is determined that the vehicle 1 has stopped.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is positioned at the rightmost side, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the illumination color of the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side is not particularly limited.
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side may be turned on with the red light.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is located at a third position from a right end of the left-side CSL 40 L, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the third position from the right end, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is positioned at the leftmost side, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may turn on the light-emitting segments 43 L located at second, fourth and fifth positions from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P.
  • the distance D is D 2
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the second position from the right end may be turned on.
  • the distance D is D 4
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fourth position from the right end may be turned on.
  • the distance D is D 5
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fifth position from the right end may be turned on.
  • a relation of D 1 >D 2 >D 3 >D 4 >D 5 >D 6 is established.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L toward a left end as the distance D decreases.
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the plurality of light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is sequentially changed, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P. Therefore, the pedestrian P can perceive that the vehicle 1 approaching the pedestrian P recognizes the pedestrian P and can thus feel relieved.
  • the illumination control unit 47 changes only the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L but may be configured to change the illumination states of both the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may change the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L so that the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on is to sequentially change
  • the illumination control unit may change the illumination state of the right-side CSL 40 R so that the light-emitting segment 43 R to be turned on is to sequentially change.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may change only the illumination state of the right-side CSL 40 R or may change the illumination states of both the right-side CSL 40 R and the left-side CSL 40 L. Also, while the illumination control unit 47 may change the illumination state of one of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R, the illumination control unit may cause the other of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R to function as the DRL, the TSL or the clearance lamp.
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on.
  • the illumination control unit may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned off. In this case, before the pedestrian P is detected, all the light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L are turned on. Thereafter, the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned off of the six light-emitting segments 43 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned off from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L toward the left end as the distance D decreases. Also, in the first embodiment, the illumination control unit 47 turns on only one of the six light-emitting segments 43 L, in correspondence to the distance D but may be configured to turn on or turn off the two or more light-emitting segments 43 L, in correspondence to the distance D.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to blink each light-emitting segment 43 L, thereby changing the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be blinked, thereby changing the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 R to be blinked, thereby changing the illumination state of the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • a blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 L may be constant or may be varied.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may set the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 L to be blinked to T 1 for a predetermined time period (for example, several seconds) after the vehicle 1 detects the pedestrian P, and may set the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 L to be blinked to T 2 longer than T 1 after the predetermined time period elapses. In this way, the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 L is shortened for the predetermined time period after the vehicle 1 detects the pedestrian P, so that the pedestrian P can easily perceive that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P.
  • a predetermined time period for example, several seconds
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to turn on one of all the light-emitting segments 43 L with a predetermined color (for example, green) and to turn on the other light-emitting segments 43 L with a color (for example, white) different from the predetermined color. In this state, the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on with the predetermined color.
  • a predetermined color for example, green
  • a color for example, white
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to determine the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, in correspondence to an angle ⁇ (an example of the relative positional relation) defined by a line connecting the vehicle 1 and the pedestrian P and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may be configured to specify the angle ⁇ , based on the position information of the pedestrian P (information about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 ) and to determine the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the specified angle ⁇ .
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L and the six light-emitting segments 43 R of the right-side CSL 40 R, along a direction (hereinafter, referred to as ‘movement direction’) in which the pedestrian P crosses the crosswalk C (step S 5 ). In this way, when the vehicle 1 has stopped after detecting the pedestrian P, the illumination control unit 47 changes the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and of the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines the movement direction of the pedestrian P by determining whether the pedestrian P exists at the left side or the right side relative to the vehicle 1 . For example, as shown in FIG. 9A , when the pedestrian P exists at the left side relative to the vehicle 1 , the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the pedestrian P exists at the left side relative to the vehicle 1 and determines that the movement direction of the pedestrian P is a rightward direction, as seen from the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the pedestrian P exists at the right side relative to the vehicle 1 and determines that the movement direction of the pedestrian P is a leftward direction, as seen from the vehicle 1 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L; 43 R along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on rightward to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes rightward the light-emitting segment to be turned on, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • FIG. 9A the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on rightward to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes rightward the light-emitting segment to be turned on, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side, the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fourth position from the left end of the left-side CSL 40 L and the light-emitting segment 43 R located at the fourth position from the left end of the right-side CSL 40 R are respectively turned on.
  • one light-emitting segment may be sequentially turned on or two or more light-emitting segments may be sequentially turned on between the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side (hereinafter, referred to as ‘light-emitting segment 43 Lm’) and the light-emitting segment 43 R positioned at the rightmost side (hereinafter, referred to as ‘light-emitting segment 43 Rm’).
  • the sequential lighting of the light-emitting segments includes not only the lighting where the light-emitting segment is turned on one by one between the light-emitting segment 43 Lm and the light-emitting segment 43 Rm but also the lighting where the light-emitting segment is turned on every other segment (or every two or more segments).
  • step S 6 the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether the pedestrian P has completely crossed the crosswalk C, based on the surrounding environment information transmitted from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 .
  • the processing returns to step S 5 . In this way, while the pedestrian P is crossing the crosswalk C, the processing of step S 5 and step S 6 is repetitively executed.
  • the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L; 43 R is sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, so that the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and of the right-side CSL 40 R are changed.
  • the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C can perceive that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P by seeing the sequential change of the light-emitting segment to be turned on, and can cross in relief the crosswalk C.
  • the light-emitting segment is sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, so that the pedestrian P is urged to cross the crosswalk C.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are respectively arranged in the lamp chambers of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R that are noticed by the pedestrian P in front of the vehicle 1 .
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L is mounted with the left low beam lamp 60 L and the left high beam lamp 70 L
  • the right-side headlamp 20 R is mounted with the right low beam lamp 60 R and the right high beam lamp 70 R. Therefore, since the pedestrian P ahead of the vehicle 1 can easily perceive the change in the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R, it is possible to increase effectiveness of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 . Also, since it is not necessary to separately provide spaces, in which the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are to be arranged, in the vehicle, it is possible to secure a degree of design freedom of an exterior package of the vehicle 1 .
  • the light-emitting segment to be turned on is sequentially changed.
  • the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R to be turned on may be sequentially changed.
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns off all the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R immediately after the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C.
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned off of the six light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, based on an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned off along the movement direction of the pedestrian P.
  • the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R may be simply referred to as the light-emitting segment 43 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 may sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L, 43 R to be blinked. Also, a blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 may be constant or may be varied. When varying the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 , the illumination control unit 47 may set the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 to be blinked to T 1 for a predetermined time period (for example, several seconds) after the vehicle 1 has stopped, and may set the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 to be blinked to T 2 longer than T 1 after the predetermined time period elapses. In this way, the blinking cycle of the light-emitting segment 43 is shortened for the predetermined time period after the vehicle 1 has stopped, so that the pedestrian P can easily perceive that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P.
  • a predetermined time period for example, several seconds
  • the illumination control unit 47 may sequentially change the illumination color of the light-emitting segment. For example, the illumination control unit 47 turns on all the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R with the white light immediately after the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C. Then, the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment, which is to be turned on with the green light, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L; 43 R along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, based on an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on with the green light along the movement direction of the pedestrian P. In this example, one of all the light-emitting segments is turned on with the green light and the other light-emitting segments are turned on with the white light.
  • the light-emitting segment to be turned on with the green light sequentially changes along the movement direction of the pedestrian P.
  • the green light has been here exemplified.
  • the light-emitting segment may be sequentially turned on with the light of another color.
  • the illumination control unit 47 changes the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the illumination state of one of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R may be changed.
  • the illumination control unit 47 when the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C, sequentially changes the light-emitting segment 43 to be turned on.
  • the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R may be changed in a manner different from the first embodiment. For example, when the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C, the illumination control unit 47 may blink each of the light-emitting segments 43 and then gradually change a blinking state of each of the light-emitting segments 43 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 may gradually change the blinking cycle of each of the light-emitting segments 43 or gradually change the luminescence intensity of each of the light-emitting segments 43 being blinked. Also, the illumination control unit 47 may present information for urging the pedestrian P to cross the crosswalk C toward the pedestrian P while presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 has stopped, toward the pedestrian P.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 starts the vehicle 1 (step S 7 ). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an accelerator control signal to the accelerator actuator 16 , and the accelerator actuator 16 controls the accelerator device 17 , based on the transmitted accelerator control signal. In this way, the vehicle 1 is started. On the other hand, before the pedestrian P has completely crossed the crosswalk C, the vehicle 1 may be started.
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on all the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R with the white light, thereby causing the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL (step S 8 ).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the white LED 400 d belonging to each of the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • Each white LED 400 d emits the white light, in correspondence to the supplied electric signal.
  • the illumination system 4 may be caused to function as the DRL after the vehicle 1 has passed the intersection point, as shown in FIG. 10A , or immediately after the vehicle 1 is started. In this way, the series of operation flows of the illumination system 4 are over. In the meantime, the illumination control unit 47 may cause the illumination system 4 to function as the clearance lamp, instead of the DRL.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may change the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R so as to present information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 starts, toward the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may blink all the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R by a predetermined number of times (for example, three times) so as to present the information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 starts, toward the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 causes the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL.
  • the illumination control unit 47 changes the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R and causes the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL in normal times.
  • the illumination system 4 capable of implementing the function of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 traveling in the automatic driving mode recognizes the pedestrian P, to the pedestrian P and the function of the DRL (or the clearance lamp).
  • the pedestrian P can perceive that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P by seeing the change in the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R, the pedestrian can feel relieved.
  • each light-emitting segment 43 L, 43 R includes the red LED 400 a , the green LED 400 b and the blue LED 400 c , each light-emitting segment can emit the red light, the green light and the blue light toward the outside. That is, since each of the light-emitting segments has the RGB light sources, it is possible to emit the lights of diverse colors. In this ways, it is possible to form a variety of illumination patterns by the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R, so that it is possible to increase an amount of information in the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 .
  • FIG. 11 is a block diagram depicting the left-side CSL 400 L and the right-side CSL 400 R.
  • FIG. 12 is a perspective view pictorially depicting an example of the left-side CSL 400 L shown in FIG. 11 .
  • FIG. 13A depicts a situation where the pedestrian P is in the vicinity of the crosswalk C and the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C.
  • FIG. 13B depicts illumination states of the left-side CSL 400 L and the right-side CSL 400 R in the situation shown in FIG. 13A .
  • FIG. 13A depicts a situation where the pedestrian P is in the vicinity of the crosswalk C and the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C.
  • FIG. 13B depicts illumination states of the left-side CSL 400 L and the right-side CSL 400 R in the situation shown in FIG. 13A .
  • FIG. 13A depicts a situation where the pedestrian P is in the vicinity of the crosswalk C and the vehicle 1 has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C.
  • FIG. 14A depicts a situation where the pedestrian P has crossed the crosswalk C and the vehicle 1 is turning right.
  • FIG. 14B depicts illumination states of the left-side CSL 400 L and the right-side CSL 400 R in the situation shown in FIG. 14A .
  • the matters already described are not repeatedly described.
  • the left-side CSL 400 L includes six light-emitting segments 430 L arranged side by side in the right and left direction.
  • Each of the light-emitting segments 430 L includes a green LED 400 e (green light-emitting element), a blue LED 400 f (blue light-emitting element), and an amber LED 400 g (amber light-emitting element) configured to emit amber light.
  • the green LED 400 e , the blue LED 400 f and the amber LED 400 g may be collectively referred to as the LED 400 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 can individually control lightings of the respective LEDs 400 belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 430 L (i.e., individually supply the electric signal to the respective LEDs 400 ), thereby changing an illumination state of each of the light-emitting segments 430 L. Also, the illumination control unit 47 can change the illumination state of each of the light-emitting segments 430 L, thereby changing an illumination state of the left-side CSL 400 L. For example, when all the six light-emitting segments 430 L emit the amber light, the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the amber LED 400 g belonging to each of the light-emitting segments 430 L through the wiring pattern.
  • each of the amber LEDs 400 g emits the amber light, in correspondence to the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 may synchronously blink the respective light-emitting segments 430 L with a predetermined frequency by supplying a pulse signal having a predetermined frequency (for example, 1 to 2 Hz) to the amber LEDs 400 g belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 430 L.
  • a pulse signal having a predetermined frequency for example, 1 to 2 Hz
  • the right-side CSL 400 R includes six light-emitting segments 430 R arranged side by side in the right and left direction.
  • Each of the light-emitting segments 430 R includes a green LED 400 e , a blue LED 400 f , and an amber LED 400 g .
  • the specific configuration of the right-side CSL 400 R is the same as the specific configuration of the left-side CSL 400 L shown in FIG. 11 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 can individually control lightings of the respective LEDs 400 belonging to the respective light-emitting segments 430 R (i.e., individually supply the electric signal to the respective LEDs 400 ), thereby changing an illumination state of each of the light-emitting segments 430 R.
  • the illumination control method of the right-side CSL 400 R is the same as the illumination control method of the left-side CSL 400 L shown in FIG. 4 .
  • FIGS. 5, 13A-13B and 14A-14B an operation flow of the illumination system 4 including the left-side CSL 400 L and the right-side CSL 400 R of the modified embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 5, 13A-13B and 14A-14B .
  • This operation flow is different from the operation flow of the first embodiment, in terms of steps S 5 and S 8 . Also, in this operation flow, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 is turning right at the intersection point. Therefore, processing of steps S 5 and S 8 are described.
  • step S 5 the illumination control unit 47 synchronously blinks the six light-emitting segments 430 R with a predetermined cycle (for example, 1 to 2 Hz) while sequentially changing the light-emitting segment 430 L to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 430 L along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, based on the illumination control signal transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • a predetermined cycle for example, 1 to 2 Hz
  • the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C can perceive that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P by seeing the sequential change of the light-emitting segment 430 L to be turned on, and can thus cross in relief the crosswalk C.
  • the light-emitting segment 430 L is sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, so that the pedestrian P is urged to cross the crosswalk C.
  • the pedestrian P can perceive that the vehicle 1 is to turn right by seeing the situation where the respective light-emitting segments 430 R emit the amber light and synchronously blink with the predetermined frequency. That is, the illumination system 4 can implement the function of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P, to the pedestrian P, and the function of the TSL.
  • step S 8 the illumination control unit 47 turns off the light-emitting segments 430 L and synchronously blinks the respective light-emitting segments 430 R with the amber light, thereby causing the illumination system 4 to function only as the TSL. Then, when it is determined that the right turn of the vehicle 1 is over, based on the surrounding environment information transmitted from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 , the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for stopping the function of the TSL and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 . The illumination control unit 47 turns off the light-emitting segments 430 R, based on the transmitted illumination control signal. On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 turns left, the illumination control unit 47 synchronously blinks the respective light-emitting segments 430 L with the amber light, thereby causing the illumination system 4 to function as the TSL.
  • FIG. 15 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having the illumination system 4 mounted thereto.
  • the illumination system 4 (refer to FIG. 2 ) includes the left-side headlamp 20 L, the left low beam lamp 60 L, the right-side headlamp 20 R, and the right low beam lamp 60 R.
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L is mounted to a front left side of the vehicle 1 B, and includes the housing 23 L, the cover 24 L mounted to the housing 23 L, and the left high beam lamp 70 L (second lamp).
  • the cover 24 L is configured by a light-penetrating member through which light can pass, for example.
  • a lamp chamber is formed by the housing 23 L and the cover 24 L, and the left high beam lamp 70 L is arranged in the lamp chamber.
  • the left high beam lamp 70 L is configured to emit the high beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left low beam lamp 60 L (first lamp) is arranged at the front grill 33 of the vehicle 1 B, which is an example of the place of the vehicle 1 B outside the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L, and is configured to emit the low beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the right-side headlamp 20 R is mounted to a front right side of the vehicle 1 B, and includes the housing 23 R, the cover 24 R mounted to the housing 23 R, and the right high beam lamp 70 R (second lamp).
  • the cover 24 R is configured by a light-penetrating member through which light can pass, for example.
  • a lamp chamber is formed by the housing 23 R and the cover 24 R, and the right high beam lamp 70 R is arranged in the lamp chamber.
  • the right high beam lamp 70 R is configured to emit the high beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the right low beam lamp 60 R (first lamp) is arranged at the front grill 33 of the vehicle 1 B, which is an example of the place of the vehicle 1 B outside the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R, and is configured to emit the low beam toward the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the illumination system 4 further includes the left-side CSL 40 L, the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L, the right-side CSL 40 R, the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R, and the illumination control unit 47 (refer to FIG. 2 ).
  • Each of the left-side CSL 40 L, the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L, the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R is a lamp for supporting communication between the target object such as the pedestrian, the other vehicle and the like and the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L are configured to emit the light toward an outside of the vehicle 1 B, and are arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the left-side CSL 40 L by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R are configured to emit the light toward an outside of the vehicle 1 B, and are arranged in the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the right-side CSL 40 R is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the right-side CSL 40 R by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • the vehicle 1 B of the second embodiment is different from the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment, in that the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R are arranged at the front grill 33 .
  • the vehicle system and the illumination system of the second embodiment have the same configurations as the vehicle system 2 and the illumination system 4 shown in FIG. 2 , the descriptions thereof are omitted.
  • both the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R are arranged at the front grill 33 but may be arranged at the bumper 34 , the front grill 33 , the left-side door mirror 35 L, the right-side door mirror 35 R or the front window 32 of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are respectively arranged in the lamp chambers of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R, which are noticed by the pedestrian P ahead of the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L is mounted with the left high beam lamp 70 L
  • the right-side headlamp 20 R is mounted with the right high beam lamp 70 R. Therefore, since the pedestrian P ahead of the vehicle 1 B can easily perceive the change in the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 B.
  • the left low beam lamp 60 L is arranged at the front grill 33 of the vehicle 1 B other than the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L
  • the right low beam lamp 60 R is arranged at the front grill 33 of the vehicle 1 B other than the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R.
  • FIG. 16 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having an illumination system of the first modified embodiment.
  • the illumination system shown in FIG. 16 is different from the illumination system shown in FIG. 15 , in that the number of the low beam lamp is one. That is, in the illumination system shown in FIG. 15 , the two low beam lamps (i.e., the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R) are arranged at the front grill 33 . However, in the illumination system shown in FIG. 16 , one low beam lamp 60 (first lamp) is arranged at the front grill 33 .
  • FIG. 17 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having an illumination system of the second modified embodiment.
  • the illumination system shown in FIG. 17 is different from the illumination system shown in FIG. 15 , in that the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R are arranged at the bumper 34 .
  • FIG. 18 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having an illumination system of the third modified embodiment.
  • the illumination system shown in FIG. 18 is different from the illumination system shown in FIG. 15 , in that the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R are arranged in the vicinity of a lower part of the front window 32 so as to face an inner surface of the front window 32 .
  • the low beams emitted from the left low beam lamp 60 L and the right low beam lamp 60 R are irradiated to a front region of the vehicle 1 B through the front window 32 .
  • FIG. 19 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having an illumination system of the fourth modified embodiment.
  • the left low beam lamp 60 L (second lamp) is arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L
  • the right low beam lamp 60 R (second lamp) is arranged in the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R.
  • the left high beam lamp 70 L (first lamp) is arranged at the left-side door mirror 35 L
  • the right high beam lamp 70 R (first lamp) is arranged at the right-side door mirror 35 R.
  • FIG. 20 is a front view of the vehicle 1 B having an illumination system of the fifth modified embodiment.
  • the illumination system shown in FIG. 20 is different from the illumination system shown in FIG. 19 , in that the left high beam lamp 70 L and the right high beam lamp 70 R are arranged in the vicinity of an upper part of the front window 32 so as to face an inner surface of the front window 32 .
  • the high beams emitted from the left high beam lamp 70 L and the right high beam lamp 70 R are irradiated to the front region of the vehicle 1 B through the front window 32 .
  • both the high beam lamp and the low beam lamp may be arranged at predetermined places of the vehicle 1 B outside the lamp chamber of the headlamp 20 .
  • the clearance lamp, the DRL and/or the TSL may be arranged in the lamp chamber of the headlamp 20 .
  • the clearance lamp, the DRL and/or the TSL may be arranged at predetermined places of the vehicle 1 B outside the lamp chamber of the headlamp 20 .
  • FIG. 21 is a front view of the vehicle 1 C.
  • FIG. 22 is a block diagram depicting the vehicle system 2 C.
  • the vehicle 1 C is a vehicle (automobile) capable of traveling in the automatic driving mode, and includes the illumination system 4 (refer to FIG. 22 ).
  • the illumination system 4 includes the left-side CSL 40 L, the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L, the right-side CSL 40 R, the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R, and the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the left-side CSL 40 L and the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L are arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L mounted at a front left side of the vehicle 1 C so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L is formed by a lamp housing (not shown) and a transparent cover (not shown) connected to the lamp housing.
  • the left-side CSL 40 L is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the left-side CSL 40 L by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • the left-side headlamp 20 L includes the left low beam lamp 60 L configured to irradiate the low beam to a front region of the vehicle 1 C and the left high beam lamp 70 L configured to irradiate the high beam to the front region of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R are arranged in the lamp chamber of the right-side headlamp 20 R mounted at a front right side of the vehicle 1 C so that they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the right-side CSL 40 R is arranged to extend in the right and left direction of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R is arranged to extend in a direction inclined relative to the right-side CSL 40 R by a predetermined angle (for example, an acute angle).
  • the right-side headlamp 20 R includes the right low beam lamp 60 R configured to irradiate the low beam to the front region of the vehicle 1 C and the right high beam lamp 70 R configured to irradiate the high beam to the front region of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the arrangement places of the left-side CSL 40 L and the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L are not particularly limited inasmuch as they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the arrangement places of the right-side CSL 40 R and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R are not particularly limited inasmuch as they can be visually recognized from the front of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle system 2 C of the vehicle 1 C is described with reference to FIG. 22 .
  • the vehicle system 2 C includes the vehicle control unit 3 , the illumination system 4 , the sensor 5 , the camera 6 , the radar 7 , the HMI 8 , the GPS 9 , the wireless communication unit 10 , and the map information storage 11 .
  • the vehicle system 2 C includes the steering actuator 12 , the steering device 13 , the brake actuator 14 , the brake device 15 , the accelerator actuator 16 , and the accelerator device 17 .
  • the vehicle system 2 C includes a vehicle exterior speaker system 50 , a vehicle interior speaker system 80 , and a display device system 90 .
  • the illumination system 4 includes the illumination control unit 47 , the left-side CSL 40 L, the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L, the right-side CSL 40 R, and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change the illumination states (for example, the illumination color, the illumination intensity, the blinking cycle, the illumination place, the illumination area and the like) of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change the illumination states (for example, the illumination color, the illumination intensity, the blinking cycle, the illumination place, the illumination area and the like) of the left-side auxiliary CSL 42 L and the right-side auxiliary CSL 42 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to control the illumination states of the left low beam lamp 60 L and left high beam lamp 70 L of the left-side headlamp 20 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the low beam to be emitted from the left low beam lamp 60 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the high beam to be emitted from the left high beam lamp 70 L.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to control the illumination states of the right low beam lamp 60 R and right high beam lamp 70 R of the right-side headlamp 20 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the low beam to be emitted from the right low beam lamp 60 R.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to move and/or change a light distribution pattern of the high beam to be emitted from the right high beam lamp 70 R.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker system 50 includes a vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 and a vehicle exterior speaker 53 .
  • the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 is configured to control the vehicle exterior speaker 53 so that a sound is to be output toward the outside of the vehicle 1 C when the vehicle 1 C detects a pedestrian.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 is configured to output a sound (a guide voice such as “Please cross the crosswalk”, a music and the like) to the vehicle exterior speaker 53 , based on voice data saved therein.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 is configured by an electronic control unit (ECU) and is electrically connected to a power supply (not shown).
  • the electronic control unit includes a microcontroller having a processor such as a CPU, an MPU and the like and a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, and other electronic circuits (for example, an amplification circuit, a DA (Digital to Analog) converter and the like).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 and the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 are provided as separate configurations but may be integrally configured. Also, the voice data may be saved in advance in the ROM.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is configured to output a sound toward the outside of the vehicle 1 C, so that the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 can be heard from the front of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is arranged at a front side of the vehicle 1 C, and may also be arranged between the front grill 33 and the bumper 34 in the upper and lower direction of the vehicle 1 C, as shown in FIG. 21 , for example.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may be a speaker of the related art, and includes at least a coil and a diaphragm.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is configured to receive an electric signal indicative of the voice data from the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 .
  • the coil vibrates, in correspondence to the received electric signal, and the diaphragm vibrates in association with the vibration of the coil.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may be a speaker disclosed in JP-A-2014-51161.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is a vibrator arranged in the lamp chamber of the left-side headlamp 20 L and/or the right-side headlamp 20 R. The vibration generated from the vibrator is transmitted to the cover and housing of the headlamp, so that the sound is output toward the outside.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may be configured to output the sound to the entire surrounding (360°) of the vehicle exterior speaker 53 or may be a superdirective speaker configured to output the sound only in a specific direction (angle region).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 detects a pedestrian and specifies a relative positional relation between the vehicle 1 C and the pedestrian, based on the surrounding environment information acquired from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 . Then, the vehicle control unit 3 selects a voice to be output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 . Thereafter, the vehicle control unit 3 transmits, to the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 , a signal indicative of the relative positional relation and an instruction signal for instructing an output of the selected voice.
  • the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 reads out voice data from the ROM, based on the received instruction signal, and outputs a sound having directionality from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 toward the pedestrian, based on the relative positional relation between the vehicle 1 C and the pedestrian and the voice data. In this case, at a place distant from a place where the pedestrian exists, the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may not be heard. Also, the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may have a plurality of speakers so as to output the sound having directionality toward the outside. Also, the sound that is to be output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may be a sound within a human audible zone (20 Hz to 20000 Hz) or may be ultrasonic waves.
  • the vehicle interior speaker system 80 includes a vehicle interior speaker 83 , and a vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 .
  • the vehicle interior speaker 83 is configured to output a sound toward a passenger in the vehicle 1 C, and is arranged at a predetermined place in the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle interior speaker 83 is a speaker of the related art, for example.
  • the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 is configured to control the vehicle interior speaker 83 from which the same sound as the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is to be output toward the passenger in the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 is configured by an electronic control unit (ECU) and is electrically connected to the power supply (not shown).
  • the electronic control unit includes a microcontroller having a processor such as a CPU, an MPU and the like and a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, and other electronic circuits (for example, an amplification circuit, a DA (Digital to Analog) converter and the like).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 and the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 are provided as separate configurations but may be integrally configured. Also, the same voice data as the voice data stored in the ROM of the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 may be saved in advance in the ROM of the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 .
  • the display device system 90 includes a display device 93 , and a display control unit 92 . Also, the display device system 90 may further include a storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk, a flash memory and the like, and an input operation unit (not shown) such as a touch panel configured to receive an input operation of a passenger. Also, the display device system 90 may be mounted with a car navigation system. Also, the vehicle interior speaker system 80 may be incorporated in the display device system 90 .
  • the display device 93 includes a liquid crystal monitor or an organic EL display, for example, and may be arranged at a predetermined place in the vehicle 1 C. For example, the display device 93 may be arranged on a dashboard of the vehicle 1 C or may be inserted in the dashboard.
  • the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are displayed so that they can be visually recognized by the passenger in the vehicle 1 C.
  • an image hereinafter, referred to as ‘headlamp image’
  • headlamp image an image showing a front view of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R may be displayed on the display device 93 .
  • the headlamp image it is possible to perceive a current illumination state of the left-side headlamp 20 L including the left-side CSL 40 L and a current illumination state of the right-side headlamp 20 R including the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the display control unit 92 is configured by a processor such as a CPU, an MPU and the like and a memory such as a ROM, a RAM and the like.
  • the display control unit 92 is configured to display the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R on the display device 93 .
  • the display control unit 92 is configured to receive signals indicative of the illumination states of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R from the vehicle control unit 3 and to generate or update headlamp image data on the basis of the received signals.
  • the display control unit 92 is configured to display a headlamp image on the display device 93 , based on the headlamp image data.
  • the display control unit 92 updates the headlamp image data, based on the signals received from the vehicle control unit 3 , and displays the headlamp image on the display device 93 , based on the updated headlamp image data.
  • a predetermined light-emitting segment of the plurality of light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is turned on (refer to FIGS. 27A-27B ), it is possible to perceive that the predetermined light-emitting segment is turned on, from the headlamp image.
  • the passenger in the vehicle can visually recognize the illumination states of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R (in particular, the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R) from the headlamp image.
  • FIG. 23 is a flowchart for illustrating an operation flow of the illumination system 4 .
  • FIG. 24A depicts a situation where the pedestrian P is in the vicinity of the crosswalk and the vehicle 1 C is approaching the crosswalk C.
  • FIG. 24B depicts illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R in the situation shown in FIG. 24A .
  • the descriptions of FIGS. 25A-25B and thereafter are basically the same as the descriptions of FIGS. 24A and 24B .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 (detection unit) first detects the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C ahead of the vehicle 1 C traveling in the automatic driving mode (in particular, the full-automatic driving mode or the advanced driving support mode) (step S 11 ).
  • the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 acquires the surrounding environment information (for example, the image data and the like) of the vehicle 1 C, and transmits the acquired surrounding environment information to the vehicle control unit 3 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 detects the pedestrian P in the vicinity of the crosswalk C, based on the surrounding, environment information transmitted from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 .
  • an object identification algorithm may be used, for example.
  • step S 11 the vehicle control unit 3 (position information acquisition unit) acquires position information of the pedestrian P, based on the transmitted surrounding environment information (step S 12 ).
  • the position information of the pedestrian P is the information about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 C.
  • the processing returns to step S 11 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, in correspondence to the distance D (an example of the relative positional relation) between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C. Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 may specify the distance D between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C, based on the position information of the pedestrian P (information about the relative position of the pedestrian P to the vehicle 1 C). For example, the distance D may be the shortest distance between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the specified distance D.
  • table or a relation equation indicative of a relation between a range of the distance D between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C and the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on may be stored in advance in the vehicle control unit 3 (ROM).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may determine the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, based on the specified distance D and the table or relation equation indicative of the relation between the range of the distance D and the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for designating the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on (i.e., the designated light-emitting segment 43 L), based on the transmitted illumination control signal. In this way, the designated light-emitting segment 43 L is turned on by the electric signal supplied from the illumination control unit 47 .
  • step S 14 the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether the vehicle 1 C has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C, based on the traveling state information of the vehicle 1 C acquired by the sensor 5 .
  • the processing returns to step S 12 . In this way, the series of processing from step S 12 to step S 14 is repetitively executed until it is determined that the vehicle 1 C has stopped.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is positioned at the rightmost side, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the illumination color of the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side is not particularly limited.
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the rightmost side may be turned on with the red light.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is located at the third position from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the third position from the right end, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the light-emitting segment 43 L, which is positioned at the leftmost side, of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L is to be turned on, and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may turn on the light-emitting segments 43 L located at second, fourth and fifth positions from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 C and the pedestrian P.
  • the distance D is D 2
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the second position from the right end may be turned on.
  • the distance D is D 4
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fourth position from the right end may be turned on.
  • the distance D is D 5
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fifth position from the right end may be turned on.
  • a relation of D 1 >D 2 >D 3 >D 4 >D 5 >D 6 is established.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to change the illumination state of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 C and the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 is configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L, in correspondence to the distance D between the vehicle 1 C and the pedestrian P.
  • the illumination control unit 47 may be configured to sequentially change the light-emitting segment 43 L to be turned on from the right end of the left-side CSL 40 L toward the left end as the distance D decreases.
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L and the six light-emitting segments 43 R of the right-side CSL 40 R, along the direction (hereinafter, referred to as ‘movement direction’) in which the pedestrian P crosses the crosswalk C (step S 15 ). In this way, when the vehicle 1 C has stopped after detecting the pedestrian P, the illumination control unit 47 changes the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and of the right-side CSL 40 R.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines the movement direction of the pedestrian P by determining whether the pedestrian P exists at the left side or the right side relative to the vehicle 1 C. For example, as shown in FIG. 27A , when the pedestrian P exists at the left side relative to the vehicle 1 C, the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the pedestrian P exists at the left side relative to the vehicle 1 C and determines that the movement direction of the pedestrian P is a rightward direction, as seen from the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 determines that the pedestrian P exists at the right side relative to the vehicle 1 C and determines that the movement direction of the pedestrian P is a leftward direction, as seen from the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 generates an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P and transmits the illumination control signal to the illumination control unit 47 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L; 43 R along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on rightward to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes rightward the light-emitting segment to be turned on, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • FIG. 27A the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing generation of an illumination pattern to be sequentially turned on rightward to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes rightward the light-emitting segment to be turned on, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side, the light-emitting segment 43 L located at the fourth position from the left end of the left-side CSL 40 L and the light-emitting segment 43 R located at the fourth position from the left end of the right-side CSL 40 R are respectively turned on.
  • one light-emitting segment may be sequentially turned on or two or more light-emitting segments may be sequentially turned on between the light-emitting segment 43 L positioned at the leftmost side (hereinafter, referred to as ‘light-emitting segment 43 Lm’) and the light-emitting segment 43 R positioned at the rightmost side (hereinafter, referred to as ‘light-emitting segment 43 Rm’).
  • the sequential lighting of the light-emitting segments includes not only the lighting where the light-emitting segment is turned on one by one between the light-emitting segment 43 Lm and the light-emitting segment 43 Rm but also the lighting where the light-emitting segment is turned on every other segment (or every two or more segments).
  • step S 16 the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 outputs a sound (a guide voice such as “Please cross the crosswalk”, and the like) from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 toward the outside (in particular, the pedestrian P) of the vehicle 1 C.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 selects a voice to be output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 , and transmits an instruction signal for instructing the selected voice to be output to the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 .
  • the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 reads out the voice data saved in the ROM, based on the received instruction signal, and transmits the electric signal indicative of the voice data to the vehicle exterior speaker 53 . In this way, the sound is output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 .
  • the vehicle exterior speaker 53 may be a superdirective speaker, as described above.
  • the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 may output a sound from the vehicle interior speaker 83 after the sound is output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 or upon the output of the sound from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 .
  • the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 receives the instruction signal for instructing the selected voice to be output from the vehicle control unit 3 , and reads out the voice data, which indicates the same sound as the sound to be output to the vehicle exterior speaker 53 , from the ROM on the basis of the instruction signal. Then, the vehicle interior speaker control unit 82 transmits the electric signal indicative of the read voice data to the vehicle interior speaker 83 . In this way, the same sound as the sound to be output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is output from the vehicle interior speaker 83 .
  • the headlamp image may be displayed on the display device 93 .
  • the passenger in the vehicle cam visually recognize the illumination states of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R (in particular, the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R) from the headlamp image displayed on the display device 93 .
  • the display control unit 92 receives the signals indicative of the illumination states of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R from the vehicle control unit 3 , and generates the headlamp image data on the basis of the received signals.
  • the display control unit 92 displays the headlamp image on the display device 93 , based on the headlamp image data.
  • step S 17 the vehicle control unit 3 determines whether the pedestrian P has completely crossed the crosswalk C, based on the surrounding environment information transmitted from the camera 6 and/or the radar 7 .
  • the processing returns to step S 15 . In this way, while the pedestrian P is crossing the crosswalk C, the processing of step S 15 and step S 16 is repetitively executed.
  • the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L; 43 R is sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, so that the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and of the right-side CSL 40 R are changed.
  • the pedestrian Pin the vicinity of the crosswalk C can perceive that the vehicle 1 C recognizes the pedestrian P by seeing the sequential change of the light-emitting segment to be turned on, and can thus cross in relief the crosswalk C.
  • the light-emitting segment is sequentially turned on along the movement direction of the pedestrian P, so that the pedestrian P is urged to cross the crosswalk C.
  • the vehicle system 2 C can continue to perform pedestrian-to-vehicle communication by the vehicle exterior speaker 53 . In this way, it is possible to provide the vehicle system 2 C capable of improving the reliability of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication function by the two systems of the illumination system 4 and the vehicle exterior speaker system 50 .
  • the passenger since the same sound as the sound output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 is output toward the passenger in the vehicle 1 C, the passenger can perceive that pedestrian-to-vehicle communication is appropriately performed between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C by hearing the sound, and can thus feel relieved. Also, since the illumination states of the left-side headlamp 20 L and the right-side headlamp 20 R (in particular, the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R) are displayed on the display device 93 so that the passenger can visually recognize the same, the passenger can perceive that pedestrian-to-vehicle communication is appropriately performed between the pedestrian P and the vehicle 1 C, and can thus feel relieved.
  • the vehicle control unit 3 starts the vehicle 1 C (step S 18 ). Specifically, the vehicle control unit 3 transmits the accelerator control signal to the accelerator actuator 16 , and the accelerator actuator 16 controls the accelerator device 17 , based on the transmitted accelerator control signal. In this way, the vehicle 1 is started. On the other hand, before the pedestrian P has completely crossed the crosswalk C, the vehicle 1 C may be started. In the meantime, before the vehicle 1 C starts, the vehicle exterior speaker control unit 52 may output a guide voice such as “the vehicle is to start” from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 . Thereby, the pedestrian in the vicinity of the vehicle 1 C can perceive in advance that the vehicle 1 C is to start by hearing the guide voice output from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 .
  • the illumination control unit 47 turns on all the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R with the white light, thereby causing the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL (step S 19 ).
  • the vehicle control unit 3 transmits an illumination control signal for instructing the illumination system 4 to function as the DRL to the illumination control unit 47 , and the illumination control unit 47 supplies the electric signal to the white LED 400 d belonging to each of the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R, based on the transmitted illumination control signal.
  • Each white LED 400 d emits the white light, in correspondence to the supplied electric signal.
  • the illumination system 4 may be caused to function as the DRL after the vehicle 1 C has passed the intersection point, as shown in FIG. 28A , or immediately after the vehicle 1 C is started. In this way, the series of operation flows of the illumination system 4 are over. In the meantime, the illumination control unit 47 may cause the illumination system 4 to function as the clearance lamp, instead of the DRL.
  • FIG. 29 is a block diagram depicting the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication system 100 including the vehicle system 2 D.
  • FIG. 30 depicts the pedestrian P who is in the vicinity of the crosswalk C and carries the portable electronic device 120 and the vehicle 1 C that has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C.
  • the vehicle system 2 D shown in FIG. 29 is different from the vehicle system 2 C shown in FIG. 22 , in that the vehicle exterior speaker system 50 and the vehicle interior speaker system 80 are not provided.
  • the portable electronic device 120 (hereinafter, simply referred to as ‘electronic device 120 ’) is carried by the pedestrian P, and is a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device or a notebook computer, for example.
  • the electronic device 120 includes a wireless communication unit 122 , a control unit 123 , a display unit 124 , and a speaker 125 .
  • the wireless communication unit 122 is configured to perform wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 10 of the vehicle system 2 D and to cause the electronic device 120 to be connectable to a communication network such as the Internet.
  • the wireless communication unit 122 may be configured to perform communication with the wireless communication unit 10 in an ad hook mode directly or via an access point.
  • the control unit 123 includes a processor such as a CPU, an MPU and the like and a memory such as a ROM, a RAM and the like, and is configured to control each operation of the electronic device 120 .
  • the control unit 123 is configured to control at least one of an illumination state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 124 and a speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 125 , based on a control signal transmitted from the vehicle 1 C.
  • the display unit 124 is a display device configured to display information, for example, and is configured to emit light to an outside.
  • the control unit 123 is configured to display a predetermined image on the display unit 124 , based on predetermined image data saved in the memory.
  • the speaker 125 is configured to convert the electric signal transmitted from the control unit 123 into voice (in other words, the speaker 125 is configured to output voice from the electric signal), and includes at least a coil and a diaphragm.
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L and the six light-emitting segments 43 R of the right-side CSL 40 R along the movement direction (refer to step S 15 in FIG. 23 ).
  • step S 16 shown in FIG. 23 the vehicle control unit 3 transmits a communication request signal to the wireless communication unit 122 of the electronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 10 so as to establish wireless communication (ad hook communication) between the vehicle system 2 D and the electronic device 120 .
  • the control unit 123 executes predetermined processing.
  • the control unit 123 transmits a reply signal to the communication request signal to the wireless communication unit 10 , via the wireless communication unit 122 . In this way, wireless communication is established between the vehicle system 2 D and the electronic device 120 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 (transmission unit) generates a display control signal (an example of the first control signal) for instructing change of the display state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 124 , and then transmits the display control signal to the electronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the control unit 123 of the electronic device 120 receives the display control signal via the wireless communication unit 122 and then changes the display state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 124 , based on the display control signal.
  • the control unit 123 may display a predetermined image for urging the pedestrian P to cross the crosswalk or may change an initial screen to be displayed on the display unit 124 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may generate a voice control signal (an example of the first control signal) for instructing change of the speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 125 and then transmit the voice control signal to the electronic device 120 via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the control unit 123 of the electronic device 120 receives the voice control signal via the wireless communication unit 122 , and then changes the speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 125 , based on the voice control signal.
  • the control unit 123 may output the guide voice such as “Please cross the crosswalk” from the speaker 125 .
  • step S 16 in FIG. 23 instead of the step (step S 16 in FIG. 23 ) of outputting the sound from the vehicle exterior speaker 53 , the step of changing the display state and/or the speaker state of the electronic device 120 carried by the pedestrian P is provided, so that the reliability of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication function is improved. In the meantime, in the fourth embodiment, all steps except step S 16 of FIG. 23 may be executed.
  • the pedestrian P can securely perceive that the vehicle 1 C recognizes the pedestrian P by visually recognizing the change in the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R and detecting at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the electronic device 120 , and can thus feel relieved. Also, even when the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are out of order, the vehicle system 2 D can continue to perform pedestrian-to-vehicle communication by the wireless communication with the electronic device 120 . In this way, it is possible to provide the vehicle system 2 D capable of increasing the reliability of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication function.
  • FIG. 31 is a block diagram depicting the road-to-vehicle communication system 200 including the vehicle system 2 D.
  • FIG. 32 depicts the pedestrian P who is in the vicinity of the crosswalk C, the vehicle 1 C that has stopped ahead of the crosswalk C, and the traffic light 130 equipped in the vicinity of the crosswalk C.
  • the traffic light 130 is one of the traffic infrastructure equipment provided in the vicinity of the pedestrian P, and includes a wireless communication unit 132 , a control unit 133 , a display unit 134 , a speaker 135 , and a signal lamp (not shown).
  • the wireless communication unit 132 is configured to perform wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 10 of the vehicle system 2 D, and to cause the traffic light 130 to be connectable to the communication network such as the Internet.
  • the wireless communication unit 132 may be configured to directly perform communication with the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the control unit 133 includes a microcontroller having a processor such as a CPU, an MPU and the like and a memory such as a ROM, a RAM and the like, and other electronic circuits, and is configured to control each operation of the traffic light 130 .
  • the control unit 133 is configured to control at least one of an illumination state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 134 and a speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 135 , based on a control signal transmitted from the vehicle 1 C.
  • the display unit 134 is a display device configured to display information, for example, and is configured to emit light to an outside.
  • the display unit 134 may be mounted at a predetermined place of a telephone pole for supporting a signal lamp.
  • the control unit 133 is configured to display a predetermined image on the display unit 134 , based on predetermined image data saved in the memory.
  • the speaker 135 is configured to convert the electric signal transmitted from the control unit 133 into voice.
  • the illumination control unit 47 sequentially changes the light-emitting segment to be turned on of the six light-emitting segments 43 L of the left-side CSL 40 L and the six light-emitting segments 43 R of the right-side CSL 40 R along the movement direction (refer to step S 15 in FIG. 23 ).
  • the vehicle 1 C establishes wireless communication connection with the traffic light 130 .
  • the wireless communication connection between the traffic light 130 and the vehicle 1 C is established by a passive scan method or an active scan method.
  • the control unit 133 of the traffic light 130 broadcasts a communication request signal (beacon) toward an outside with a predetermined cycle via the wireless communication unit 132 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 receives the communication request signal transmitted from the traffic light 130 , via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 transmits a reply signal to the communication request signal to the wireless communication unit 132 , via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the wireless communication is established between the vehicle system 2 D and the traffic light 130 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 (transmission unit) generates a display control signal (an example of the second control signal) for instructing change of the display state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 134 , and transmits the display control signal to the traffic light 130 , via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the control unit 133 of the traffic light 130 receives the display control signal via the wireless communication unit 132 , and changes the display state (an illumination color, a blinking and the like) of the display unit 134 on the basis of the display control signal.
  • the control unit 133 may display a predetermined image for urging the pedestrian P to cross the crosswalk on the display unit 134 .
  • the vehicle control unit 3 may generate a voice control signal (an example of the second control signal) for instructing change of the speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 135 and then transmit the voice control signal to the traffic light 130 via the wireless communication unit 10 .
  • the control unit 133 of the traffic light 130 receives the voice control signal via the wireless communication unit 132 , and then changes the speaker state (voice state) of the speaker 135 , based on the voice control signal.
  • the control unit 133 may output the guide voice such as “Please cross the crosswalk” from the speaker 135 .
  • all steps except step S 16 of FIG. 23 may be executed.
  • the pedestrian P can securely perceive that the vehicle 1 C recognizes the pedestrian P by visually recognizing the change in the illumination states of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R and detecting at least one of the display state and the speaker state of the traffic light 130 , and can thus feel relieved. Also, even when the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R are out of order, the vehicle system 2 D can continue to perform pedestrian-to-vehicle communication by the wireless communication with the traffic light 130 . In this way, it is possible to provide the vehicle system 2 D capable of increasing the reliability of the pedestrian-to-vehicle communication function.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle includes the full-automatic driving mode, the advanced driving support mode, the driving support mode, and the manual driving mode.
  • the driving mode of the vehicle should not be limited to the four modes.
  • the classification of the driving mode of the vehicle may be appropriately changed, in accordance with laws or rules relating to the automatic driving in each country.
  • the definitions of “the full-automatic driving mode”, “the advanced driving support mode” and “the driving support mode” described in the embodiments are just examples, and can be appropriately changed, in accordance with laws or rules relating to the automatic driving in each country.
  • the other light-emitting elements such as semiconductor laser may be provided to each of the light-emitting segments 43 L, 43 R, instead of the LED.
  • the LED described in the embodiments includes an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode).
  • each of the left-side CSL 40 L and the right-side CSL 40 R includes the six light-emitting segments.
  • the number of the light-emitting segments is not limited to six.
  • the number of the light-emitting segments may be appropriately set, in correspondence to a type of the vehicle 1 to which the illumination system 4 is to be mounted.
  • the number of LEDs included in the light-emitting segments is not limited to four.
  • the light-emitting segment may include one or more LEDs.
  • the six light-emitting segments 43 L (or the six light-emitting segments 43 R) are arranged side by side on one line in the right and left direction.
  • the light-emitting segments 43 L may be arranged in a predetermined direction (for example, the upper and lower direction) other than the right and left direction.
  • the illumination system 1 capable of presenting the information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 recognizes the pedestrian P, to the pedestrian P has been described.
  • the present invention can be applied to an illumination system capable of presenting information, which indicates that the vehicle 1 recognizes the other vehicle, to a driver of the other vehicle, too. That is, the target object that is to be recognized by the vehicle 1 is not limited to the pedestrian and includes the other vehicle (an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, and the like).

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JP7045993B2 (ja) 2022-04-01
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